


fitting together

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: FullmoonFiclet Entries [134]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, FBI Agent Derek Hale, FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, Fluff, Future Fic, Investigations, M/M, Slice of Life, mention of Rafael McCall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 02:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20463401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: They both found their way into the FBI, in the end. Working with Rafael McCall, working together, eventually becoming more was something Derek didn't plan for. He has no complaints though.





	fitting together

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Full Moon Ficlet](http://fullmoonficlet.tumblr.com) challenge on tumblr - prompt #343: incongruous

"Look, it just doesn't fit," Stiles says, pointing at the sheets of paper spread all over the table in the loft. 

Derek leans over and glances at the papers again, though he's been doing nothing but looking at them for hours. 

"What doesn't fit?" 

Stiles lets out the most exasperated sigh that Derek ever heard but then he tugs out one of the sheets and points at the text there. 

"This. This doesn't fit."

"Is that the case from last month?" 

"Yeah. And I know we have all these others from the past few years that seem to have the same M.O.," Stiles says, hands flailing and pointing at all the other documents -- case notes from various unexplained deaths from across the entire country. "I thought this one was one of them but it's not."

"Weren't there the same injuries and evidence?" Derek asks, reaching for the notes in Stiles's hand and trying to remember the specifics of that case.

"Same wound, same place, some weapon left on the scene," Stiles says. "Stupid ice picks. I know they're easy to get but come on, so uninventive."

"Would you prefer that the people we try to find get more original and make it harder for us?" Derek asks him with a hint of incredulity in his tone. 

"Well, it wouldn't be dull," Stiles says, shrugging. 

"We have cases from the past six years here," Derek points out, glancing at the notes. "They happened in so many different places that we don't have a pattern. Are you seriously _bored_?" 

This time, he knows he's sounding incredulous but this doesn't sound like Stiles. He's usually intrigued by cases as complicated as this one -- the amount of notes on the table speaks for itself -- and loves nothing more than finding links between incidents that lead him to an arrest or an explanation. 

"Wait," Derek suddenly says, looking at Stiles. "Are you frustrated because you don't have a solution yet?" 

"No," Stiles replies firmly, though he sounds more than a little cranky. "I'm frustrated because I wasted a week trying to find a link between all these, including that one," he points to the notes that are now in Derek's hand. "But that one doesn't fit. It's not consistent with the rest of them."

"How?" 

"There's an age pattern. And a gender pattern," Stiles tells Derek and starts lining up the notes on the table. "They're all in a sequence, the numbers aligning and the genders alternating."

Stiles continues moving the notes and grumbling about gender binary -- Derek doesn't risk asking -- until he has the notes in a tidy row and whoops with satisfaction. 

"Here, look," he says to Derek but doesn't wait longer than a second before he starts rambling about the patterns he's found. 

Derek sees it after only a few moments. There's a sequence in the birth years of the victims even though it doesn't align with the time order of the murders. But put into that sequence, the victims' genders alternate perfectly. Except for the last one. The one in Derek's hand. Which should have been a woman but instead was a man. 

"Are you sure this wouldn't come up later in the sequence?" Derek asks, shuddering at the thought of any more murders satisfying whatever drive that the murderer has. 

Stiles shakes his head. "No. Look, his birthday fits perfectly right into this part of the sequence but the genders don't. And the way this sequence works, there's no way the same number would come up again." he explains. "There's no congruence." 

"So we can hand this one back to Rafael," Derek says as he drops the notes on the one tiny free spot on the table. "And then we're back to the drawing board."

"But with a better starting point," Stiles tells him after nodding. 

"At least we have one," Derek sighs. "We had nothing when we got this pile." 

"True," Stiles says, then he turns away from the notes and grins at Derek. "I still think Rafael's trying to test our limits." 

"See how fast or if we can solve a cold case this old?" 

"No. More like testing whether we can work together while we're also living together," Stiles says with a cheerful grin as he walks closer. 

Derek smiles back. He agrees with Stiles: this case is a test. Rafael already knows that they can work together easily, there is plenty of proof of that in their past. But they weren't dating then and they didn't share an apartment. Derek is sure Rafael just wants to know whether he can safely turn a blind eye to the fact that his coworkers are a couple and that it won't affect their work. 

He knows it won't. He and Stiles had plenty of discussions about their coworker relationship before they decided to take their personal one to a new level. It's been complicated for a while but now they're in a place where they can -- for the most part -- separate the two. 

"Well, I hope we won't disappoint him," Stiles says with a grin that tells Derek that he's determined to prove Rafael's doubts wrong. "But it's just not going to be by solving this particular case," he adds, waving the notes on the case that doesn't fit.

"Something tells me that he either already has that case solved--" Derek starts but doesn't get to finish.

"Or it never existed in the first place," Stiles says what Derek's thinking. 

"Well, shall we keep him waiting a little longer?" 

Stiles lift an eyebrow but stays where he is. 

"We've earned ourselves a break, don't you think?" Derek asks, returning Stiles's gesture with one of his own. 

"Why, Agent Hale, are you implying we skip out on work for a different activity?" 

"I don't know, Agent Stilinski, are you up for a distraction?"

"You know I always am," Stiles says. 

Derek can't wipe the smile off of his face as he watches Stiles drop the notes on the pile on the table and _saunter_ over to the other side of it until they're toe to toe. 

"What did you have in mind?" Stiles asks, eyes sparkling with amusement. 

For a beat, Derek doesn't say anything, just lets himself take in Stiles's expression and face. It's still new, them being together, him being this close and able to act on his wants and feelings. There's still a hint of doubt in his mind about relationships in general, his past not that distant a memory. 

"Well," he starts when Stiles's smile starts fading and watches as it brightens again. "I was thinking I could use a nap," he finished. 

"What?" Stiles's face morphs into a shocked expression. 

It takes all of Derek's strength not to burst into laughter at how scandalized Stiles looks. But there's always a payoff for teasing and Derek has had plenty of practice in keeping his poker face unmoving. 

"You're kidding, right?" Stiles asks, still looking incredulous.

"We've been at this all night," Derek tells him with a nod at the files on the table. "I think both of us would benefit from lying down for a while."

"Now, the lying down I am absolutely on board with," Stiles says, then shakes his head. "But sleep is not really on my mind at the moment."

"Now now, Agent Stilinski," Derek says, barely keeping his composure. "You're not about to suggest we behave unprofessionally, are you? When we're under scrutiny to prove that we _can_ be professional." 

He can feel the corner of his mouth twitching and knows the pretense is shattering fast. There's no way Stiles can miss that Derek's not being serious, that he'd ignore the twitch or the way Derek's shoulders are tense as he tries to stop them from shaking. 

"Well, you know, you look a little tired," Stiles says, his expression back to a blank and serious one. "Maybe _you_ should lie down here," he tells Derek, pointing at the couch in the middle of the room. "I'll just go upstairs and... _relax_." 

Derek knows precisely what Stiles isn't saying. He doesn't reply though, not trusting his words and his brain's ability to filter them. Instead, he reaches out and tucks his fingers into the belt loops on Stiles's jeans, then tugs him closer. 

"Wouldn't it be more fun to have someone help you with that?" 

Stiles's eyes sparkle with amusement.

"I thought you were tired," he says. "What about your nap?"

Derek grins and tugs Stiles even closer, their bodies flush against each other's. 

"I think the nap can wait... for after," he says in a breath and then leans in, pressing his lips against Stiles's waiting ones. 

He feels the little gasp that rushes out of Stiles's mouth more than he hears it, the heat of their bodies combining and the way his own heart speeds up at the kiss. Before his mind completely blanks out and before he loses himself in the kiss, he thinks that no matter what tests anyone puts them through from now on,. they'll be able to make it out on the other side with their relationship as intact and strong as it could possibly be. The way Stiles's is kissing him back -- with hunger and want -- Derek knows that he's not the only one who feels that way. 

Like the case that they couldn't fit into the pattern, their relationship wasn't one that seemed to fit into their own lives' patterns. But they've made it work and Derek knows that there's nothing that can break them apart. 

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)


End file.
